I begun my patrol out of Vierlande after having dropped of a larger number of criminals the previous evening. Open touching into space I was immediately notified by a Guiliano_Agricola that an Outcast Gunboat was operating in Dresden. After recieving permission from Feldwebel Lindau I proceeded with haste there. As I reached the sector he was located in, I found Herr Agricola and three Kruger ships being pirated by the very Outcast Gunboat Herr Agricola had reported. He carried the ID ''Chuck_Norris'' but I could not get a closer look at his ship since upon noticing my arrival he was quick to leave even without his spoils.
As I was to report back to Feldwebel Lindau a huge ion storm hit and all comm systems were disengaged. Upon regaining control of my ship, I found myself flown out of sector B-6 all the way to Bautzen Station. I quickly took the tradelanes down to Leipzig and on to the aforementioned sector but luckily, found the Kruger ships unscathed. Now that my comm systems were up, I was able to report back to Feldwebel Lindau who told me he had experienced the same comm problems. Just as I was going to return to the Strausberg for further instructions, a Polizei Offizier told me he had spotted two Corsair Gunboats in Omega-7.
I was quickly granted access to Omega-7 and continued to Freistadt. Upon discovering a Freelancer trying to bypass our laws against Military Vehicle transportation, I put the lead on the Corsairs to a temporary halt. I was able to get the supplies back and had the Freelancer moor it at Freistadt. I continued with the Polizei Offizier, Triton, towards the field. We did a quick sweep but discovered nothing. At this point Gefreiter Von Marck had been ordered into the area by Feldwebel Lindau but as I gave him a status update, the Gefreiter was quickly called back. I was told to proceed back to New Berlin to support the Feldwebel against some suspected pirates. However, by the time I had reached Planet Stuttgart the issue had already been resolved and I enountered them myself near the Jump Gate to New Berlin.
To my amazement, they had managed to slip a Rheinland Polizei Pilot in their hold away from the Feldwebel but luckily they complied immediately and handed him over. Strangely enough, the Karlsruhe and even the Planetary defences of Stuttgart opened fire on them. By this time my job had been done and they were already some 8 clicks ahead of me so I followed the Feldwebels order and returned to New Berlin. I went through the system all the way to the Hamburg Jump Gate until I was ordered into Frankfurt for a standard patrol. Nothing was found near the Jump Gate or Mannheim Station, but upon reaching Mainz I got a jackpot.
A Freelancer by the ID of Tarzan_3 was carrying Counterfeit Software and illegal codeweapons. As he seemed like a reasonable man and a supporter of the Kanzler, I let him off with simply handing over the codeweapons and allowing me to destroy the contraband. Of course, he was made to solemnly swear never to try and smuggle again. I warned him off the concequences this would have and told him how noone escapes the Kanzlers military might. He showed genuine understanding and seemed appreciative that he was given a second chance. Upon reporting this to the Feldwebel yet again, I was ordered to make a quick sweep through Münschen.
This was by far the least inactive system yet as all I found throughout my patrol of the Battleship, Nuremberg and the Augsburg Colony was a simple Kruger vessel. As I arrived to Planet Nuremberg I was ordered back into New Berlin to await further instruction by the Feldwebel. However, as I passed near New Berlin my ship was swept up in another ion storm and I found myself yet again in the vicinity of the Vierlande Prison, where I had started my patrol.
I tried to report to both the Feldwebel, the Gefreiter and even the RNC-Stormholm but none of them were responsive. I deducted that my comm systems must have been taken out by the ion storm so I activated cruise engines and made my way for Planet Hamburg. After taken the lane midway between Alster and Hamburg, I realised that not only my comm systems were failing but also the others. Eventually all power but basic lifesupport was cut out and I was left drifting near Hamburg.
I spent some 15 minutes just floating there near Gefreiter von Marck and a Rheinland Cruiser until something snapped in my ship. A cable suddenly pulled out and smoke filled my cockpit. Systems were suddenly engaged and not only did I lose all control of the ship but my guns started firing everywhere. Luckily enough, the Gefreiter was sharp and had the Cruiser fire upon my engines. I spent another 5 minutes or so tinkering with the ship until eventually I managed to fix the main circuitry. After establishing radio comms with von Marck I was ordered to make a checkup on my ship at Planet Hamburg and now here I am at --Location classified-- awaiting notification from the workshop. They told me it should only be a couple of days but in the meantime I suppose I'll get a chance to catch up on some paperwork.
Flieger Karl Hoch, signing off.
--END TRANSMISSION--
"The rule about bears is their unpredictability."
''I'm a bear. Bear with me.''
''Nothing like a cold bear on a Saturday night.''
